What info did you get in pregnancy about breastfeeding?

[ApuskiDusky]

I'm 7 weeks pregnant with dc#2, and just had my very speedy booking-in appointment with my GP. They gave me a few leaflets on antenatal testing, a copy of Emma's diary (again!), and, bizarrely, a leaflet on thrush from breast feeding. I would consider my GP practice to be bf friendly, they always were really positive about my extended breastfeeding with dc#1, it just seems a really odd introduction to the idea.

What's others' experiences about information given in pregnancy on bf?

I can't remember whether I was given any leaflets or not.. but I was informed of a breastfeeding workshop at our local hospital.

I got the usual couple of leaflets and the stuff in Emma's diary etc when pg with ds.

I got the same stuff this time round, and tbh, now that I know what I am doing (been feeding ds for 4yrs now!) I think the information given out as standard is pretty wishy washy with not a lot of substance tbh.

Luckily for me with ds, I had been reading a lot of MN before he was born so was probably as prepared as one can be for it.

I was expecting the midwife to tell me to wean ds, but was delighted when she told me that one of her dcs fed until age 4 and she tandemmed at one stage, so she understands. Not sure what the HVs are like here though, but am planning to not have an awful lot to do with them tbh.

The MW asked me if i intended to BF and if i had the first time around

she then ticked a box

that was it

Luckily, i have had MN this time around and read a lot of threads and been directed to Kellymom as well

At my 28 week check a few weeks ago, I had to point out to the midwife I was seeing that on the checklist of things to do that day, she was meant to talk to me about breastfeeding. She then gave DP and I a completely uninspiring 5 minute talk about it, sounding like she was reading it for the first time (maybe she was!). If I wasn't already committed to BF, then it would have done nothing to encourage me.

I was at the hospital again yesterday, and whilst on a different floor saw a notice about breastfeeding workshops, which take place there monthly. The ante natal clinic I attend is in the same building, but there have been no posters up about these sessions in the ante natal section, and none of the three midwives I have seen over the course of my appointments have told me about them. The next one is two days before I am due, so I am pretty unlikely to be attending.

This is a bit ranty (just a bit), but this is sooo unimpressive (my ante natal care has been pretty bad on the whole; the midwives are nice, but hopeless, misinformed, and need lots of prompting to get what you need from them). It really doesn't surprise me that so many women don't feel encouraged and supported in breastfeeding, no matter what the official DoH line is.

Emma's Diary went in the recycling early on, as I couldn't read it without cringing, but I have been given a leaflet and DVD too.

I had the usual handful of 'why breast is best' leaflets and an ante-natal 'baby feeding class'.

However, both the leaflets and class concentrated very heavily on why to bf rather than how to bf and both completely glossed over the problems women can face and how to cope with them. One lady in the feeding class asked a question about which nipple cream is best and whether it has to be washed off before baby can feed and was shot down in flames by the group leader. After all, if you get the latch right you won't get sore nipples you silly woman! I didn't even hear about mastitis until I attended a bfing drop in centre after my baby was born and got all the 'ok, so things went wrong then' leaflets.

I suppose, to be fair, it is hard striking the right balance between informing and scaring women off bfing and there are lots of women who won't have any problems at all.

Thanks all - I was expecting some kind of 'breast is best' information at this point, and then to get some kind of information on possible issues like thrush or mastitis much closer to delivery. I might mention it to my midwife when I see her, once I've got a sense of her views on all this stuff.